1. Field of Art
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of undercover operations and more specifically to covertly gathering situational information from a subject.
2. Background of the Invention
Police officers, informants and other agents “operators” oftentimes deal with nefarious subjects during the course of their duties. In many cases, the subjects are encountered during the course of undercover investigations that require the operator to use phones to call or otherwise communicate with the various subjects. Oftentimes, the subjects may ascertain information about the operator or a plan that may endanger the operator. For example, the subjects may discover that an informant is working with the police or discover the identity of an undercover officer. In such cases, the subjects attempt to hide that knowledge from the operator. Accordingly, an operator may subsequently encounter a subject unbeknownst that an assumed identity or plan is compromised.
In other situations, an operator such as a police negotiator may interact with subjects during a hostage crisis or standoff. Oftentimes, important information the operator requires to make decisions in the field relative to the situation can only be provided by the subject. In many cases, subjects are less than truthful and provide the operator with false or misleading information. Decisions based on the misleading information may diminish the safety of an entry team, hostages, and the subject himself.
While these difficulties are discussed with respect to an operator, private individuals (e.g., a business owner) and other entities may face similar difficulties.